Josh Mandel's $2 million ad campaign went against focus of marketing plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel's office this year fiercely defended spending nearly $2 million on TV commercials starring himself and Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer, officials noted state law required the treasurer to "develop marketing plans and promotional materials" to publicize a savings plan.

But treasurer's office marketing plans obtained through a public records request show big budget TV ads were not recommended as the best way to promote the STABLE Account program, which offers tax-advantaged investment accounts for disabled individuals, similar to 529 college savings accounts.

Instead, the marketing plans lay out a grassroots strategy to target Ohioans who might be interested in the program by working with existing disability agencies and advocacy groups.

Among the 35 pages of marketing materials provided by the treasurer's office, TV ads are only mentioned once.

An October 2015 draft plan advised "traditional means, such as TV, radio and print" and social media advertising should be considered in addition to partnering with existing organizations.

About $21,000 was spent on online advertising, according to state spending information available on Mandel's OhioCheckbook.com. But the office made no print or radio advertising purchases for the STABLE program.

Mandel spokeswoman Mandi Merritt said TV ads were chosen to "maximize the amount of people and families we were educating on STABLE Accounts for individuals with disabilities."

Additionally, Merritt said treasurer's office staff have held more than 450 presentations and meetings across the state and worked with approximately 190 advocacy groups to spread awareness.

What happened?

Lawmakers allocated $4 million over two fiscal years to administer, implement and promote the new program.

"We realize that the Senate is dealing with an even larger budget gap than the House, and that cuts are being made across the board," Merritt said in an email. "The treasurer's office reductions look to be in line with other office and agency reductions and seem to be sensible."

While the House cut only the treasurer's office funding, the Senate trimmed state general revenue fund spending by 4 percent for the auditor, 3.4 percent for the attorney general and 3 percent for the treasurer's office. Roughly 51 percent of the cuts to Mandel's budget were from the STABLE program.

Were the ads necessary?

In February, Democrats charged the ads were used to boost Mandel's political profile ahead of his Senate run.

Mandel's office said the ads "proved to be effective" because approximately 2,250 individuals signed up for STABLE Accounts, and web traffic was 230 percent greater when the ads ran.

Merritt said the ad caught the attention of people who otherwise would not have known about the program.

But Merritt said the office will be able to successfully run and promote the program without the state funding. Outreach efforts, including meeting with county boards of developmental disabilities and providing information through Facebook and Twitter, were done in-house at no additional cost to the office.

"Nearly everyone knows someone who lives with a disability and by increasing awareness amongst all Ohioans this important message can be spread far and wide," Merritt said.